RandBall: A Game 3 prediction

We took a stab at predicting Games 3, 4, 6 and 7 of the Wild/Colorado series pregame -- basically, anytime we were reasonably confident in a Wild victory, we went on record.

We refrained from Games 1 and 2 against Chicago because, well, you know. The confidence wasn't there, and rightfully so.

Does this mean we're confident in a Wild victory tonight, since obviously we're here to predict a result?

Short answer: yes.

Long answer: We're less confident than we were in any of the games against Colorado. There was something about that series that made Colorado seem, more often than not, like the inferior team even though the regular season did not bear that out. It was just a really good matchup for Minnesota.

Likewise, Chicago is a bad matchup. The Blackhawks are deeper, better defensively and far more poised than the Avs. They have more gears, and they can beat you in more ways.

That said, we haven't seen the Wild's best game yet in this series. Frankly, we probably haven't seen Chicago's, either. But sometimes desperation can be the difference-maker, and tonight is one of those nights. We don't see Minnesota winning a low-scoring game, but we will say the Wild finally gets on track offensively in Game 3. We'll take Minnesota, 4-3.